


Between Slavery & Friendship

by grip_me_tight_cas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Anyways, Destiel - Freeform, Hero!Dean, M/M, Mwahaha, Slavery, Young!Dean, and angsty enough, and fluff, because i am fucking evil, conductor!Dean, cute shit, fluffy shit, hero!castiel, historical fiction - Freeform, i hope i make this fluffy enough, lots of shit, sad shit, serious shit, serious tag time, station owner!Castiel, underground railroad, underground railroad!au, yay time for fucking emotions guys, young!Cas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 21:25:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3503267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grip_me_tight_cas/pseuds/grip_me_tight_cas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is an Irish slave for the Winchester family in the 1800's. He is raised with Dean as his playmate and as his friend. As they grow up they learn what it truly means to be slave and master and their relationship teeters on the line between what is expected from them and what they want. This is a story about friendship and slavery and the fight for freedom during a time that so many were oppressed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between Slavery & Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> I spent a good half hour fangirling with my professor about the Underground Railroad the other day and I decided that this needed to be done, it needed to be written. So here you go, I hope that I can do this amazing thing some justice! I do not claim to know everything about the time period and might not always be completely accurate (historical fiction is hard, man?) but, believe me, I will try! Hopefully you will learn a few cool things about the Underground Railroad as you read some cute/fluffy/angsty shit at the same time cx  
> Any comments will be taken in and loved and read a half a million times, they will be given a shrine on my wall, I promise cx  
> Kudos are very nice too.

**America, July 16, 1862 -**

 

Dean and Castiel are sitting in the shade of a nearby tree, carving branches into makeshift arrows.

"Maybe if I get a deer this time, father will be proud." Dean says smiling wide. The 11 year old does everything he can to please his father, without a care for his own safety or pain.

Castiel smiles back as he smooths one side of his arrow down. "I am sure of it. You will get the biggest deer that anyone has ever killed, it will be so big that when he goes to mount it on the wall it will nearly break the wall down and he will have to cut it in half just to get it up there and once he gets it up there, it will be on the walls for everyone to see and there will be a party to celebrate the large bounty and we will feast for weeks on that one deer and people will come from all around to see the famous deer that was slain by Dean Winchester." Castiel turns big blue eyes to Dean in astonishment as if he can see the whole thing playing out in front of him, as if it is already happening.

Dean scoffs and punches Castiel's shoulder playfully, "Castiel, don't let your imagination get so out of control." He says it as if he believes it is a foolish, childish idea but Castiel can see the thankful smile on his lips and he knows that Dean is trying to keep from jumping around in excitement.

They go back to whittling their arrows as the sun falls to its slumber.

 

*** * * * ***

 

The next morning, Castiel goes to Dean's chambers to wake him at the time Master John said. Dean was to wake early to get ready for the long day in the woods.

When Castiel gets to Dean's bed, though, he finds that he is not there. He searches the room with his eyes, Dean doesn't normally wake before Castiel.

"Dean?"

"In here"

Castiel moves to follow the sound of Dean's voice. He finds him in the washroom just as he finished tying up his bottoms.

"Could you help me with this?" Dean asks, motioning towards his hunting gear.

Castiel goes to help Dean get ready for his day of hunting.

"You aren't usually up before me." Castiel notes absently.

"I couldn't sleep very well last night, I was too nervous for today. Father has never taken me along with him to hunt before." Dean says, as Castiel ties up the back of the hunting shirt.

"Yes, I know, Dean." Castiel laughs under his breath. "I would have been there had you been hunting before. I go everywhere with you."

Dean rolls his eyes, "I could order you to stay if you'd like? Have someone else tend to me for the day?" He says it jokingly but he has recently realized that he tends to shove his foot where his mouth should go.

Castiel just frowns at Dean, a look between confusion and hurt. Before Dean can fix it, John is there to take them off to their hunt.

 

*** * * * ***

Dean didn't hit a deer that day.

 

*** * * * ***

 

Dean is Castiel's best friend, but he is also his master. Or owner, or whatever you would like to call it. Castiel had been sold at the age of 4 to the Winchester family. His life had simply been a payment for his mother to travel to the new world. Being so young when he was sold, he never knew his father, or his siblings (if he had any). The only memory that he had of his mother was the day she handed him over to the slave auctioneer.

When Castiel was sad, Dean would tell him stories of his family. He would tell him of his father, Chuck, with his kind eyes and silly antics, of his sister, Anna, of her soft hands and hair as red as the sky when the sun was setting. He told him of adventures that Castiel had apparently had with them.

He had no recollection of these events.

Castiel knows Dean is lying. The likeliness of Dean having seen or met Castiel's parents is slim, if not impossible, but the stories warm Castiel's heart and it makes him smile when Dean lies to him.

Dean can lie very prettily.

It is nights like these that make it easy to forget that Castiel is a slave and Dean is his master.

 

*** * * * ***

 

Castiel is one year younger than Dean, but Dean always tells him that he talks like he is ninety years old.

"It is just a matter of maturity, Dean" Castiel says trying to act nonchalant about it, but Dean can see his sly smirk.

"Yeah? Well, your face is a matter of maturity." Dean says, frustration leaking into his voice.

He looks away a moment before turning back to Castiel "I guess this means you don't get your gift then." He says, fake remorse plastered on his face. "You're probably too mature to get gifts, aren't you?"

Castiel stands there a moment in confusion. When he sees Dean turn to leave, he finally finds himself.

"My what?" He has never heard of "gifts" before, none of the other slaves that live in his quarters ever talk about these things. "What is a gift?"

Dean turns back to Castiel, how could he not know what a gift was? He must be joking. "You know what a gift is, everyone knows what a gift is."

"I don't."

Dean stares at Castiel before moving toward his bed. "This is a gift." He says, pulling out a small wooden box from under his bed.

Castiel steps carefully over towards the side of the bed, leaning over to look at what Dean is holding. "That is…. A box, Dean.. so, a box is the same thing as a gift, then? I do not understand."

"The gift is the thing _inside_ the box." Dean smiles down at the box for a moment before he offers it up to Castiel. When he Castiel doesn't move, Dean sighs exasperatedly. "It is for you, you are supposed to take it."

Castiel takes the box.

"Who am I supposed to take it to?"

"No, no, I said it was for you, you're supposed to keep it for yourself." Dean frowns, he doesn't understand how Castiel doesn't grasp the concept of a gift, surly someone must of given him something in his life.

Castiel looks at the box in his hands. On the top of it, Castiel traces the crude engraving of a flower, Dean must of made the box himself. Castiel wonders absently how Dean had been able to make the box without him ever seeing it.

"You can open it if you'd like…." Dean says quietly, nervously. Castiel looks up to Dean's eyes and then back down, he still doesn't understand.

This box is so beautiful, even if the flower is hardly identifiable as a flower, it is the most beautiful thing he has ever owned. The wood is cracked so badly that there are places with inch-wide spaces that the wood fails to cover. It smells like old wood and must. It looks like it could collapse between his fingertips. Castiel loves it. He doesn’t understand how there could be more of a 'gift' than this box. It is _his_ box. Castiel carefully slides the top of the box back enough to reveal a clean white shirt, much like the kind of shirt Dean wears, except different. The stitching is off in places and there are small holes to show that the hands that made this shirt were not very skilled in sewing.

"I, um, I made it for you. I just thought- cause I always see you wearing the same shirt, and I figured you might want another one." Castiel can't take his eyes off of the gold stitching. Dean can't take his eyes off of Cas. "I know it's not the best stitching, I'm not very good at sewing yet." He explains, "I don't think my father would be happy if he saw me sewing but I've been practicing and….." his voice slowly quiets when he sees a wet droplet fall onto the shirt. "Cas?"

"It is beautiful, Dean, you are very talented." Castiel doesn't look up from the shirt, afraid that it'll disappear if he does. He has never owned anything so….. So _beautiful_.

"Are you sure you like it?" Dean asks, unsure. "I can make you a better one instead."

Castiel looks up, startled. "No, I love it, please don't take it away." Castiel nearly begs in a small voice. "It is the most beautiful thing I have ever owned.

Dean blinks at Castiel in confusion, how had he not put it together before? He feels so selfish for never realizing it before this moment. But how could he not own anything of this sort when Dean has so many things like this? He has so many beautiful, shiny things, how could Castiel not have any? But, Dean had said so himself, he had never seen Castiel in any other shirt besides the one he is wearing right now. It finally hits Dean that this is what his father means when he says Castiel is a slave and Dean is his master. An odd feeling settles in Dean's stomach at the realization, the whole situation suddenly feels wrong, so very, very wrong.

 

*** * * * ***

Ever since that first gift, Dean has been making things for Castiel, beautiful things. Clothes, trinkets, metals- anything, really, sometimes he even sneaks some food for Castiel, watching his expression as he takes a bite of each treat. Castiel doesn't understand why Dean keeps giving these _gifts_ to him but he loves them, and Dean always smiles so brightly when he gives them to Castiel that he just can't refuse them. The trinkets are all so imperfect and crude and _beautiful_ in all of their imperfections. Castiel cherishes each gift.

Castiel takes every gift that Dean gives him, places them in the wooden flower box and buries them under his bed for safekeeping.


End file.
